On Saturday night
Elizma Wildschutte was the first South African to win the title of SA's Favourite dancer in the zinging
So You Think You Can Dance finale.
Yesterday morning (Monday) I hooked up with her to find out how she's reeling, what she's up to and what life was like behind-the-scenes on the show
:
Tashi: Many congrats on your win!
Elizma: Thank you SO much.
Tashi: What have you been up to since it happened and right now? You haven't been dancing have you?
Elizma: Oh gosh no I haven't, I'm just resting. I start work at the end of the week so for the next couples of days I'm just taking time out for myself to rest, my body and my mind because these past ten weeks have been hectic, it's been very hectic so I'm just taking time out for now.
Tashi: You say you're starting work - what? Where?
Elizma: Because of the competition I think a lot of people saw what I could do so I've been booked for a couple of corporates up here in Jo'burg until December so that's what I'll be doing for the next couple of weeks.
Tashi: Will you be returning to Cape Town?
Elizma: Yes, I'll definitely be going back in December for the holidays - I think I'm going to have to come back to Jo'burg next year because this is where most of the work is. I need to use the time because I have no idea what I what I want to do next year - I didn't give it much thought 'cos for the past 10 weeks I had to concentrate on the competition only.
Tashi: Throughout the competition contestants said they hope the show opens up opportunities,
Elizma: Ja I'm also hoping it opens up opportunities - I haven't received any calls with any contracts or you know, proposals or anything so I'm still waiting but I am hoping it's opened up a lot of opportunties for us to work.
Tashi: What sorts of opportunities are there for dancers in South Africa?
Elizma: It's either you dance - our country doesn't have a lot of institutions like dance companies that dancers can go to - so either you freelance or you go the choreography route or you have to become a teacher, I'm hoping in that regard.
I think it would be easy for me if I want to open my own dance school, go to people and ask for sponsorship because I've become my own brand now. I think that's all you can do as a dancer, or you have to go totally against everything and maybe go into acting or the corporate world but there aren't companies or institutions for dancers here in South Africa - those are all overseas.
Tashi: Would you consider going overseas?
Elizma: I don't know, you know for now I really just want to give back to the community and do something for them because they supported me through this whole journey and it's because of them that I'm South Africa's favourite dancer right now so I need to find a way to give back to the community.
Tashi: What's your first job that you'll be doing?
Elizma: I have no idea, I'll only find out once the rehearsals start but I think I'm going to be doing Miss World somewhere, I think.
Tashi: What was the toughest part of everything in the competition?
Elizma: There was so much, but I think it was definitely dealing with so many people all the time. You had to deal with yourself, you had to deal with your fellow contestants, the choreographers, the production people, the costumes - there was just so much to do, all the time you could almost,
almost forget to concentrate on yourself.
Also, to have patience - with yourself and with everyone else because the whole experience was new to absolutely everyone, the production team, us - we were all learning - I think it was just savouring the experience but having the patience so that you could do everything with care and handle everything right.
Tashi: Did everyone stay together during the competition?
Elizma: Yes we were all up in one hotel.
Tashi: Oh so it was a hotel, not one big house or apartment.
Elizma: No no no it was a hotel so at the end of the day you ended up having your own space.
Tashi: I was going ask, did it end up being like Big Brother?
Elizma: No no not at all. Everyone could go their own route and sort out their minds. It was the hotel just outside the Brightwater Commons.
Tashi: What was your fave dance out of every one you performed?
Elizma: It was definitely the Cha Cha - my very first dance I performed for the first Live show. I enjoyed performing it SO much - Latin was one of the dance forms I never thought ... if it were up to me I never would have done it. I never even would have gone to a social class or anything - just learning the discipline, it's also such a cheeky dance.
You know Latin's very sensual, very sexy, full of attitude - something I'm not trained in because in contemporary you don't deal with such emotions - so the switch for me, learning how to do it and then performing it was absolutely wonderful.
Tashi: How do you support yourself over the 10 weeks of the competition?
Elizma: We couldn't do any outside work so I basically got support from my family. They were looking after me for 10 weeks because I couldn't work - we weren't allowed to do any outside work whatsoever.
Tashi: So you didn't get a salary or anything like?
Elizma: No no not at all.
Tashi: Besides your win, what was your most memorable moment?
Elizma: Oh gosh, there were quite a few. One that really stood out for me - I'd have to say when I had
Debbie Rakusin in absolute tears after I performed my solo. That was an absolute highlight moment for me.
Tashi: When you got to the Top 20 who did you think your biggest competition was?
Elizma: There were actually two girls - my first one was
Louisa Talbot 'cos she was a very strong technical dancer, she's extremely technical and she's strong. The second was
Megan Erasmus because she's a brilliant performer - and she's also my best friend.
Tashi: Did you become friends in the competition?
Elizma: No no no, we basically grew up together. We're both from Cape Town, we trained at the same ballet school, eventually we ended up in the same dance company in Cape Town (Jazzart). Then she came up to Jo'burg and I later came up too and we ended up dancing for the same people so we've kind of been together for all our lives and we were best friends, we still are.
Tashi: When you found yourself in the bottom 3 - how did it impact on you?
Elizma: The first time I really, really took it hard because I didn't think I deserved to be there and I so badly didn't want to be voted out because I felt I hadn't done what I wanted to do and luckily it wasn't me they were gunning for.
It really does impact because you go back and doubt yourself, you're like "Ooh, what is it that I'm doing wrong that the public is not rooting for me?" It definitely makes you a bit doubtful.
Tashi: If you were to do it again, would you want to be in the bottom 3 again or if you had a choice would you say "No bottom 3 again - ever."? Did it contribute to your win?
Elizma: It did, it did because you realise, you go like "Oh gosh," being in the bottom 3 never leaves you feeling comfortable. You always think "I was there last week and I don't want to be there again so what is it that I have to do?" You automatically just go "I need to step up my game, " and you just work so much harder.
Tashi: Did the competition change your dancing?
Elizma: Yes it definitely did - as I said if I didn't do it I'd never think about going to learn Latin, or a hip hop class or learning Krump. It's definitely taught me the beginning techniques of a whole lot of other dance genres which I'd like to go into now just for fun, to learn more about them. I left the competition with a lot of knowledge. Ballroom and Latin definitely.
Tashi: What did you discover about yourself through it all?
Elizma: Oh gosh, I've actually learnt that under pressure I can be calm because I'm a person that stresses a lot very easily. I've learnt that I can became calm if I want to be calm under pressure and that I have a lot of patience - something that I've always struggled with in my life.
Tashi: What was it that shifted you to be calm?
Elizma: It was definitely a mindset - I think a lot of the competition actually happens in your mind. Your body having to execute such a lot of things - you had stay focused, you had to remember your routines, you had to constantly think about what you were saying to who and what; and you had to be so aware - it was definitely a mind-game. The competition was definitely a lot about where your mind was at.
Tashi: At the finale we
spotted Lorcia Cooper screaming like crazy for you - was she your dance teacher? Do you know her?
Elizma: *laughs* No she wasn't my dance teacher - she knows me from young. She was at Debbie Turner Studio's and I was at Kafda School of Dance so we know each other since we were young - we kind of group up - not as rivals but knwoing each other. Then when I came to Jo'burg we worked together for a bit so we know each other well and she was being a supporter.
Tashi: What are you going to do with the bucks?
Elizma: I have NO idea, I haven't given it any thought and I don't want to rush into it because I really don't want to make the wrong decision so I have no idea.
Tashi: And your license? When you are you getting it?
Elizma: I don't know, I still have to go and book for all of these things.
Tashi: At least when you go they won't fail you the first time like they so enjoy doing.
Elizma: I hope not!